The invention relates to a chair-lift having chairs coupled on the line to an aerial rope and equipped with a swing-back protective hood, capable of occupying selectively two positions, a lowered closed position protecting the passengers seated on the chair, and a raised open position for the passengers to mount and dismount from said chair, the hood opening operation being performed at the entry to the terminal and the closing operation at the exit from the terminal.
A chair lift of the kind mentioned enables passengers to be transported in enclosures sheltered from bad weather conditions, while at the same time preserving a notably simpler structure than that of cable-cars. The skiers can in addition keep their skis on, which makes mounting and dismounting operations onto and off the chair easier.
On a state of the art chair-lift, the hood, in the form of a fold-away cover, is fitted in position and removed by the skier or skiers seated on the chair, but these operations require a certain dexterity, notably when it is windy. If the hood is made up of a rigid half-shell, it is practically impossible for the skier to actuate the latter and it has already been proposed that an automatic control similar to that of the cable-car doors be used, wherein a control roller cooperates with a fixed rail extending along the trajectory of the car or the chair. Operation of this positive control is sharp and it cannot be used when the chair is moving quickly, as the length of the control rail becomes too great.